ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT: In an odd career move, ‘former’ Anaheim Deputy Police Chief Craig Hunter is now working in the City Manager’s office where his “official title” is still–surprise, surprise–“Deputy Police Chief,” something confirmed to me today by Ruth Ruiz, Public Information Officer for the city.

In the aftermath of officer-involved shootings and “civil unrest” rocking Anaheim, a very quiet transition of power has taken place within the city’s police department.

A little over a month ago, Craig Hunter, then-Deputy Police Chief, who literally seemed to be everywhere throughout the summer, suddenly just dropped out of sight, as if he had vanished into thin air. In his place, Captain Raul Quezada, a sixteen-year veteran of the force, was made Anaheim Police Chief John Welter’s right-hand man.

The transition was made with little fanfare or hoopla, with no press releases or announcements being issued anywhere, not even on the internet. In fact, if you go to the Anaheim Police Department’s website, you’ll discover that it still lists Hunter as Deputy Police Chief.

So what happened to Hunter? Did he retire? After all, his profile on Facebook does have a photograph of a boat sitting at a dock. Or was he terminated for some undisclosed reason?

The answer is neither. In an odd career move, Hunter has moved out of Anaheim Police Department headquarters and now is working a few blocks east in the City Manager’s office where his “official title” is still–surprise, surprise–“Deputy Police Chief,” something confirmed to me today by Ruth Ruiz, Public Information Officer for the city.

This revelation was first brought to my attention last Friday in a brief telephone conversation I had with a receptionist at the Office of Police Chief. While quizzing her about Quezada, she informed me Hunter was working in the City Manager’s office. Curious, I decided to ring them up to find out more.

The dialogue went something like this:

“Is Craig Hunter working there?” I asked.

“Yes, he is,” replied the woman who answered the phone.

“What does he do?” I inquired.

“Oh, he works on special projects.”

“What kind of special projects?”

“I actually don’t know, sir. Who is this?”

“My name is Duane Roberts. I’m a community activist.”

“Do you wish to speak to him?”

“No,” I replied. “But can you tell me what his title is?”

“Yes, just a moment.”

I hear typing in the background, followed by a brief pause.

“He’s Deputy Police Chief,” was the response.

My jaw dropped.

“Deputy Police Chief?!? I just contacted the Office of Police Chief and they told me that Raul Quezada is the new Deputy Police Chief?”

“I don’t know, sir. But this is what we have him listed here.”

I graciously thanked her for her time and then proceeded to call the Office of Police Chief for the second time in a half hour.

“Hi, this is Duane Roberts. I just spoke with the City Manager’s office and they told me that Craig Hunter was still Deputy Police Chief.”

“Well, I don’t know what they call him over there,” said the receptionist, now sounding a bit annoyed I had contacted her again. “But across the hall from where I’m sitting is the Deputy Police Chief’s office and the man in it is Raul Quezada.”

In the conversation I had with Ruiz, she confirmed that Hunter was now working in the City Manager’s office and that his title is still “Deputy Police Chief.” She said he was “on special assignment” and was involved in “community outreach,” which she defined as “bringing community programs to Anaheim.”

When I asked Ruiz if he was still on the payroll of the Anaheim Police Department, she responded: “Good question. I’ll have to get back with you on that.”

For purposes of disclosure, Duane Roberts is an Anaheim City Council candidate.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 10:42 a.m., Ruth Ruiz, Public Information Officer for the City of Anaheim, contacted me via telephone to let me know that Craig Hunter’s salary is still being paid for out of the Anaheim Police Department budget.

So the police are managing the city of Anaheim? So, if the Mayor and council say that they need to follow the advice of “staff” or get approval from “staff” that means that they need to get permission from the Police?

*Duane…..dude…….good work doing a little – Investigative Reporting. You just blew one Golden Opportunity….what was that? Talking directly to the new Special Projects Deputy Police Chief directly.

Be bold….talk to him….the Receptionist gave you the perfect opportunity and you
didn’t take it. ALWAYS and we mean ALWAYS get it directly from the horses mouth….
each and every time you can. Even if they directly lie to you – you will get down eventually to the facts and the truth.

Keep up the good work – but always go right for the gold – out of the box!

Given that I lately have been critical of Anaheim Police top brass, I didn’t want to speak to Hunter directly for fear it might be construed as a form of harassment. I thought it was more appropriate for me to speak with other persons working in the City Manager’s office to get the information I needed.

They had to park him somewhere while he transitions out of APD and into retirement. One assumes that his employment contract does not allow for a reduction in pay or title, but shuffling him over to a cubicle where he can be kept busy yet ineffective (and yes there ARE times when you want someone to be ineffective) is the best place for this man to be. Not that i know anything at all about it of course.

As you may be aware, Craig Hunter has been dogged with allegations of police brutality and misconduct throughout his career with the Anaheim Police Department. They started surfacing again during the latest series of officer-involved shootings and “civil unrest,” generating further negative publicity for Anaheim. There was probably a mutual agreement between Hunter and other city officials that it was time for him to “move on.” Since they couldn’t fire him, they stuck him in a cubicle in the City Manager’s office, a position less visible to general public. In his place, Captain Raul Quezada was quietly installed as Deputy Chief–a move partly done with the intent of repairing the damaged relationship with city’s Mexican and Central American community. Quezada is probably being groomed to replace Police Chief John Welter when he retires within a few years.

Duane, I have known Craig most of my life as we grew up together. I saw on the news last night APD with a new DC. And I passed that on to my wife. So on to the Internet I go to find your article 1st.

I do not know the circumstances of Craig’s situation or Anaheim for that matter. I appreciate your disclosure at the end that you are a candidate for Anaheim City Council. What I found so surprising is the following in your blog:

“I actually don’t know, sir. Who is this?”

“My name is Duane Roberts. I’m a community activist.”

“Do you wish to speak to him?”

“No,” I replied. “But can you tell me what his title is?”

If it is the truth you seek, WHY didn’t you want to talk with him when you were afforded the opportunity? As a City Council member, do you propose to also refuse to fully investigate a matter when given an opportunity?

I honestly do not understand why a community activist/city council candidate would turn down an opportunity to talk to him directly. I appreciate your honesty in this matter Duane. You could have deleted that part of the conversation out. But don’t you think the people of Anaheim deserve a City Council who strives for open conversation, not hides from it? Do you really think a single phone call is “harassment?”

As an outsider to Anaheim, but a city we love to go to all the time, I can’t tell if you are trying to solve a problem, or politically gain by creating one? You should have told the receptionist, “YES”, when she asked if you would like to speak to him.

There are three reasons why I didn’t feel a need to speak with Mr. Hunter: 1) The only information I was interested in obtaining was confirmation from the City Manager’s office that he was working there; 2) I didn’t want to contact him directly for fear that it could be construed as harassment, and; 3) The time I called was around 4:45 p.m. on a Friday afternoon: not a time to have a dialogue with any employee who wants to go home. As far as I’m concerned, I acted appropriately. If you believe otherwise, that’s fine.

“Hunter was now working in the City Manager’s office and that his title is still “Deputy Police Chief.” She said he was “on special assignment” and was involved in “community outreach,” which she defined as “bringing community programs to Anaheim.”

The origin of the word police came from ancient Greek polis which means city. . Polis only ocurs when civility is enforced by the police. All police forces in essence are “community outreach” programs. The philosopher kings (and queens) of 21st century Anaheim fail to make this simple connection or are they hiding Hunter with the disguise of Deputy Police Chief of “community outreach” ?